The present invention relates generally to computerized methods and systems for creating, maintaining and processing of records, and more particular to a method and system for creating, maintaining and processing of records related to motor carriers.
The genesis of the present invention lies in an identified alignment of needs across government, motor carrier, registrants, licensees and process agent stakeholders of the motor carrier industry. State and federal authorities are required to regulate motor carriers under existing laws, but there remains a significant gap between the regulations and effective enforcement regarding motor carrier record keeping, safety and compliance. Significant inefficiencies and confusion abound with respect to the keeping, publishing and communication of motor carrier records. The use of process agents is widespread throughout the motor carrier industry, but there are no effective and efficient communications channels between such agent and their customers, among the drivers and motor carriers or registrants, nor between the registrants and the various jurisdictions in this multi-billion dollar industry.
A complicating factor in regulation and fee/tax collection and equitable distribution is that a various of driver, vehicle, cargo, and business profiles affect record keeping requirements, including both the required content and the applicable uses of the records.
Most records-related applications/frameworks on the market are aimed at hours of service and distance recording, and the efficiencies such metrics can introduce into the day-to-day management of vehicles in fleets. For example, a recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) “Electronic On-Board Recorders and Hours of Service Supporting Documents” (Federal Register Volume 79 Number 60, Mar. 28, 2014) (49 CFR Parts 385, 386, 390, et al.)] eschews integrated hours of service, distance including in jurisdictional distance, fuel, and cargo reporting to accomplish merely drivers' hours of service recording. At an estimated total cost to implement between $1,578 M and $2,468 M for 4.36 M regulated vehicles, this NPRM addresses but one of several essential record keeping requirements and does not address data aggregation and analysis. In short, the U.S. Federal Government is issuing preliminary guidance that does not serve all stakeholders effectively and does not endeavor to provide a data basis for adequate roadway facility or regulation improvement.
Today, record keeping in the motor carrier industry is poor at best; the small percentage of audits undertaken reveal glaring inconsistencies and inadequacies in the way motor carriers maintain their obligatory records. Since only a fraction of fleets are audited per year (around a minimum of 3%, as mandated by inter jurisdictional agreements that guide vehicle registration fee apportionment and fuel tax collection and distribution), there is very little incentive for motor carriers to keep accurate records. As it stands, one can derive statistically that 80% of the audited accounts have errors (as demonstrated by statistics published by fifty-nine U.S. States and Canadian Provinces) and it is estimated that half of those registrant records are completely inadequate (non-compliant to the inter jurisdictional agreements). The errors and noncompliance are the results from two factors, primarily: Registrants and licensees have inadequate internal controls, causing unreliable source records (per trip, per vehicle, per driver, per cargo); and, inaccurate summaries, which are mandated features of the inter-jurisdictional agreements, causing inaccurate base jurisdiction and national reporting, registration fee calculations and apportionment, and inequitable distribution of fuel taxes. In short, record keeping is essential to the equitable funds transfers among the U.S. States and Canadian Provinces.
In addition to the management of billions of registration fees and tax distributions, the poor record keeping, inadequate internal controls, and inaccurate summaries also have important highway safety ramifications. Important programs, led by the United States Government's Department of Transportation (USDOT), by its Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), rely on reporting accuracy in order to allocate scarce inspection resources. Improved accuracy and timeliness in record keeping, therefore, would imply an increase in highway safety.
There are existing systems exist that provide automated collection of relevant trip details, addressing some aspects of the required records. These systems center around vehicle performance, driver hours of service or calculating fuel taxes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,881,838 B2 discloses a driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting system. This method for logging and reporting driver activity and vehicle operation includes identifying a driver of a vehicle, recording operating data with an on-board recorder that is hard-wired to an engine control module, coupled to a mileage sensing system, and linked to a global navigation satellite system, and recording duty status of the driver. A log of hours of service and a fuel tax log are created from the operating data. The method includes comparing the driver's hours of service log to an applicable requirement, indicating to the driver whether the driver is in-compliance or out-of-compliance with the applicable requirement, automatically uploading the logs to a receiver external to the vehicle using a wireless telecommunications network, and emitting a compliance signal representative of whether the driver is in-compliance or out-of-compliance with the applicable requirement to a second receiver external to the vehicle and under control of authorities.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,357 discloses a portable computer based motor vehicle performance monitoring system, which performs vehicle characteristic measurements and calculations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,083 B1 discloses a system and method for making use of a removable device, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), cellphone or similar device, in conjunction with a driver information system. The removable device is brought to a vehicle and data in the removable device is transferred to the vehicle. This data can be data that is normally stored in the removable device, such as contact data, or it can be data that the operator has selected and loaded into the removable device for transport to the vehicle, for instance to update the vehicle information system. Data can also be transferred from the vehicle to external systems by transporting it in the removable device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,590 B2 discloses a system and method for automatically calculating safety-related compliance data for vehicle operators. Vehicle operators enter a identification code and status information into a mobile communication terminal located on a vehicle. The identification code and status information is generally stored in a memory located within the mobile communication device. The identification code and status information can be transmitted to a central station where it can be processed to determine compliance with safety regulations. The resulting data may be transmitted back to the vehicle upon request. In another embodiment, a processor located within the mobile communication terminal processes the identification code and status information. The resultant data may then be transmitted to the central station or presented to the vehicle operator upon request.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,341 B1 discloses a method and apparatus for automatically creating and maintaining driver activity logs for vehicle operators. The vehicle operator is in communication with a central station using a mobile communication terminal located onboard an assigned vehicle. A vehicle operator driving status is determined at the central station when messages and position reports are transmitted from the vehicle to the central station. A driver activity log is created upon request by the vehicle operator or by authorized personnel at the central station or host facility. The driver activity log may then be transmitted to the vehicle for display.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20100039254 A1 discloses a machine-controlled method that can include a mobile electronic device capturing transportation activity information corresponding to a particular transportation activity for a user, evaluating the transportation activity information based on a set of compliance rules, and issuing an alert to the user in response to determining that the transportation activity information is not in conformance with the set of compliance rules.
EP 2136377 B1 discloses a system and method for collecting data in a vehicle.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 20010018628 A1 discloses a system for monitoring vehicle efficiency and vehicle and driver performance. In this disclosure, a commercial vehicle fleet management system integrates a vehicle on-board computer, a precise positioning system, and communication system to provide automated calculating and reporting of jurisdictional fuel taxes, road use taxes, vehicle registration fees, and the like. Also disclosed is an online mobile communication system and a system for monitoring carrier vehicle efficiency and vehicle and driver performance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,857 B2 discloses a system for remote monitoring of a vehicle and method of determining vehicle mileage, jurisdiction crossing and fuel consumption. A monitoring system determines vehicle position and fuel consumption in a jurisdiction, and jurisdiction crossings. The system includes a vehicle having a fuel reservoir from which fuel is consumed as an energy source. The system also includes a positioning system for generating the present position information of the vehicle. The information includes latitude and longitude data points. Additionally, the system includes a fuel monitoring device in the fuel reservoir, whereby the fuel monitoring means generates information including the present level of fuel in the fuel reservoir. Also, a data collection device collects the present position information and the present level of fuel information. Finally, the system includes a processor located at a remote site from the vehicle, which processor receives data from the collecting device. The processor determines when the vehicle crosses a jurisdiction border and computes the fuel consumption in the jurisdiction, the fuel consumption data can then be later used to compute the fuel tax.
Despite the aforementioned efforts, there remains a long felt need for a records management system that aggregates trip data into usable summaries and formats for registration, licensing, United States Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) mandated Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) filings, Unified Registration System reporting requirements, payment by registrants and enforcement of proof of payment of United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax returns by U.S. and Mexican States, the District of Columbia, and Canadian Provides (as required by 26 CFR 41.6001-2, PROOF OF PAYMENT FOR STATE REGISTRATION PURPOSES), and fuel tax filings that guide the reconciliation, payment, and redistribution of fuel taxes and other vehicle-related fees among the participating North American jurisdictions and governments.
The present invention is therefore directed to the problem of developing a computerized method and apparatus for recording, tracking and communicating motor carrier records between and among process agents, their customers, and government regulators, whilst also increasing the ability for process agents to communicate with their clients, find and contact new clients and manage larger pools of registrants still requiring their assistance. The invention also provides a method of vehicle fleet analysis to allow process agents and their customers, as well as other fleet registrants and motor carriers to optimize their fleet operations insofar as fleet registration and tax returns.